Effective immediately. Walked to the door sort of stuff. With the amount of layoffs they'll probably end up doing, it's the only practical way.

Thanks again, guys. I went to krav, hit some stuff, taught some stuff, shot some shit. And then went out for sushi. Which I'm convinced I'm going to have to stop since I can't depend on being able to pay my way. Not that I was regularly paying my way, but now that I know I can't I feel like I'm shifting into the sort of "takes advantage" category sarameg talked about earlier.

Even if I'm not even the one suggesting we go out.

But hey! Sushi. And an attempt at networking.

At the very least, I'm available to substitute teach for krav a lot more.

Dammit. Cancelling my gym membership is very much the responsible thing to do...now that I have the time to actually go.

So far I've applied for one job nearby, and am definitely keeping the commute in mind, although who knows if I'll be able to be picky in the end? Or in the middle, hoping we don't get too far down the road.

Hec, can I get UI while I'm teaching krav? It's a total pittance, so it'd be a shame. But I would ask them to stop paying me if it made a difference. Since it is such a pittance, and UI less so.

And now I'm going to go watch TV. Really late. Because I CAN. Bwahahah.

Erm.

Fucking A, ita. As lori said, that's a hell of a Monday Mystery Meeting.

Don't cancel the gym membership. You'll be able to make it work, and you'll need it while you are job hunting.

During my longish stretch of unemployment, temping helped immensely in terms of keeping the money coming in, keeping the networking going, and keeping me in the habit of getting up and going to work most days. It also left me with enough days off here and there to focus on the job hunting.

Hell, it found me my current job. I wasn't placed into that job, but I did get to meet people at the company who recommended me for a job that was opening up.

FWIW, at least with MA unemployment a couple of years ago, you were able to deduct a temp-job or side-gig pittance from the weekly amount you were going to get. And then, since the UI was based on a total lump-sum for the six months allotted, the money you made was "given back" in the form of stretching out your compensation period, so instead of six months, depending on the remuneration, you could get benefits for seven or eight months.

Also, do keep the gym membership up -- you've got the time, and the endorphins will do you good.

InMeNews, I've still got my cold. The good news is that it's moved more towards the lungs, which is a sign that it's thinking about going away, but the bad news is that I'm coughing and coughing. Cough medicine is in my future....

I'm sorry, ita. The one important thing that nobody has mentioned yet: COBRA. You desperately need continuity in health care through this!

People have good advice. Unemployment checks are a good thing.

Today I was asked to provide a written record of an "incident" that could jeopardize a co-worker's job (I found a pot stash in the bathroom). I'd kinda rather not.

Oh, yikes.

Also, nice brunch pictures!

Crappy about the layoff, ita. *hugs self in lew of hugging ita*

I can't think of a better way to say it, so Ima point at erika and say, "What she said!"

likewise. And, man, I wish my company could hire ita and let her telecommute. Not that I know exactly what she does but in my mind at least she'd totally be able to do the job of the very competent systems analyst/project managery type person who we are losing this week. And I'm sure it will be ages before they replace her if they ever do. Which means there will be one less intermediary between me (the writer) and the programmers. That's not good.

Much job-ma, ita. That's a helluva a way to start the week. October? You're on notice!

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Teotihuacan, once the center of a sprawling pre-Hispanic empire, is set to become the launch pad for an attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial life.

Starting on Tuesday, enthusiasts from around the world will have a chance to submit text, images, video and sounds that reflect human nature to be included in the message.

Those contributions -- part of media company Yahoo's "Time Capsule" project -- will be digitalized and beamed with a laser into space on October 25 from the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan, now an archeological site near Mexico City.

I think I'll submit a message to the aliens:

Yo, aliens: bite me. No, seriously. We humans taste really good. Like chicken - or bacon. Both of which are really nummy. Trust me. Come and get it! Our people have a saying: "Human - it's what's for dinner."

P.S. - Baltar is a traitor who helped the Cylons.

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